Pruning, cardboard, sawdust, wood ash, fruit leftovers, chicken manure and chicken manure (manure from hens and chickens) are residues that are normally taken as garbage but can be part of the solution to reduce Colombia’s dependence on imports. of agro-inputs.
Precisely, given that 42% of the fertilizers that the country imports come from Russia and Ukraine —and that the conflict between these two nations has raised their international prices by up to 30%— Rodolfo Correa, president of the National Council of Secretaries of Agriculture of Colombia (Consa), proposed to start a national transition plan to organic fertilizers, which would reduce the cost of crop fertilization by up to 35%.
“Fertilizers represent 55% of the sales of inputs demanded by the agricultural sector, pesticides 27%, veterinary drugs 13% and biological products 5%. This also implies a monetary cost that the producer must assume, since about 90% of the raw materials for the production of balanced feed is imported and only 10% corresponds to production with domestic raw materials”, stated Correa.
Thus, to curb this situation, the Government of Antioquia, in association with the University of Antioquia, presented a project that seeks to reduce dependence on imported inputs and strengthen self-sufficiency and agricultural production sovereignty.
According to Correa, the project, which has a value of $20,230 million, intends to build an infrastructure specialized in agricultural production, which will contain a balanced feed processing plant, a chemical and biological fertilizer manufacturing plant, and a plant for veterinary products.
“The design of fertilizer prototypes adapted to tropical production conditions would be sought, the formulation of veterinary products according to production requirements, the development of own brands of agricultural inputs and the implementation of the Agricultural Training School of Antioquia (EFAA). , as a strategy for education and training to strengthen socio-business skills and the organizational and administrative structure of producers,” said the official.
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Replace the chemical?
Jorge Soto, general manager of Abonamos, a Colombian company that produces and markets agricultural inputs, expressed that organic fertilizers can effectively reduce the use of chemicals; however, he does not replace them 100%.
“Two kilos of chemical fertilizer can be replaced by one kilo of chemical and five of organic. Combining these two types of fertilizers would decrease the amount of fertilizers that would need to be imported. And the results and crop yields are the same. In addition, the excessive use of chemical fertilizers causes nutritional imbalances, even reaching levels of toxicity in the soil, and unnecessarily increasing production costs,” said Soto.
And he added that, although the use of inputs from organic waste is not something new in the country, the covid-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine conflict have made it look more like a necessity.
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You have to be careful
In the preparation of organic fertilizers, certain care must also be taken, since if there is no adequate decomposition of the organic matter, a phytosanitary problem can be generated.
“If there is a bad application of these organic fertilizers, there is a risk of having a delay in the plants. Another risk, if a good process of sanitizing organic matter is not carried out, is that the soil can be contaminated with microorganisms that harm the crop,” Soto explained.
In this sense, Soto indicated that there must be adequate composting and sanitization of organic matter, as well as advancing in technology transfer processes so that Colombian farmers can adequately produce their own inputs.
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More economical
A 50-kilogram bag of potassium — used for crops such as coffee — went from costing $65,000 in March 2020 to around $215,000 in the same month this year. The increase in these prices has meant that production costs have also increased significantly.
For this reason, and agreeing with Secretary Correa, Soto stressed that the combination of organic and chemical fertilizers would reduce farmers’ production costs by more than 30%.
“The high prices of agro-inputs raised awareness for a greater use of organic waste. Necessity has caused these changes to occur, which is very beneficial for the soil. All this is going to produce a change in agriculture that is friendlier to the environment”, pointed out the manager of Abonamos.
And although the short-term outlook is not encouraging, it is expected that with the decisions made by the National Government, such as the elimination of tariffs on 165 goods —among which are food, beverages, flour, cereals, seeds for products agricultural, tools, among others—that are imported into the country, reduce the inflationary pressures that Colombians have in their pockets
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